What is a Good Life? #8 (Podcast)
What is a Good Life? #8 (Podcast)
Science (& Nature) meets Art with Dr. Daria Chrobok
On the eighth episode of the “What is a Good Life?” podcast, I am joined by Dr. Daria Chrobok, an artist, a scientist (PhD in plant physiology), and an entrepreneur.
In this episode Daria takes us through her journey of cultivating more inner peace (via ice baths, meditation, and the grounding influence of nature), redefining relationships, releasing her creativity, stepping away from academia, setting up her own company (DC SciArt), and residing in her purpose.
If you are still looking to identify what you want to do with your life, if you pay attention to Daria’s whole process, I believe you’ll observe many of the necessary steps to identify and engage with one’s purpose.
The structure for the newsletter is:
Short video clip from the podcast (2 mins)
My weekly reflection related to the weekly video clip (2 mins)
Full podcast episode - both video and audio (60 mins)
Two content related questions to prompt your own reflections on life
1. Weekly Clip from the Podcast
2. My weekly reflection
I have interviewed 150+ individuals around this question and the ones that appear to have a high degree of purpose in their lives, while all very different, tend to share a number of processes in common. The one I am focusing on today is living your values.
When attempting to find more purpose in our lives, the search often appears very superficial. It’s like trying to find a new hobby with various compatibility, personality, and skill tests, which focus more on logical lines of inquiry that typically promise a quick answer. Almost like we simply haven’t thought about it enough and a convenient final answer lies within our grasp.
My observations tell me discovering purpose is more a lived experience, or a way of being, the discovery of whatever elements of it we find is more a byproduct of our way of being than an efficient and direct logical line of inquiry.
Values are a prime example. If you take the time to pay attention to your own personal values, not merely absorb them through osmosis from the prevailing culture, and then fully commit to living those values, they become a filter for many of our decisions. In Daria’s case, even though it meant facing uncertainty and the unknown, they led her away from her role in academia.
We don’t necessarily know where they will take us, but values, amongst other components, are akin to a compass when attempting to discover more purpose in our lives. The problem with this intuitive compass is that it may require us to do things that scare us. Many of us hold the delusion that if only we knew our purpose we would throw caution to the wind, but when purpose brings us face to face with difficult decisions, only then can we find out whether we truly want more of it in our lives.
3. Full Episode - Science (& Nature) meets Art with Dr. Daria Chrobok - What is a Good Life? Ep. #8
Click here for Apple and Google.
4. This week’s Questions
How often do you give yourself time to do something without the pressure of it needing to be productive or having an outcome?
If you stand back from your life and take in all your choices and actions, how well do you maintain your values? Are they your North Star or are they more something you tell others?
About Me
I am a Coach based in Berlin, via Dublin, Ireland. I left behind a 15-year career in Capital Markets after I became extremely curious around what life, myself, and existence are all about.
I create corporate programs for companies to foster greater psychological safety, trust and purpose (click here for reference). While I also work with high-performing, individual clients who have hit their material goals and are trying to understand what comes after performance.
If you would like to work with me, or you simply want to get in touch, here’s my email and LinkedIn.